in this report, members of Growing in Grace Church, located in Miami USA are said to have emulated their pastor Jose Luis De Jesus Miranda by branding themselves with *666* tattoos, as seen above.

Members of of the controversial religious sect headquartered in Doral, said they were following the example of their leader, Jose Luis De Jesus Miranda, who has claimed to be Jesus and recently declared himself the Antichrist.

Critics have called De Jesus a cult leader who manipulates followers. Church members say he has brought them happiness and spiritual fulfillment.

It�s a sign most Christians would shun, because for centuries the numbers have been associated with Satan. But for the 30 or so church members who branded themselves with 666 and SSS � the initials of De Jesus� motto, �salvo siempre salvo,� or �saved always saved� � it�s a mark of their absolute faith in De Jesus.

Church members say the symbol doesn�t connect them to Satan but rather to De Jesus� claim that he has replaced Christ�s teachings with a new gospel.

Scholars and critics of the movement say the tattoos offer frightening evidence of the influence De Jesus commands over his followers.

De Jesus � who preaches that sin and the devil were destroyed when Jesus died on the cross and that God�s chosen already have been saved � has built a massive movement around his claim to divinity. Followers call him �Daddy� and �God� and lavish him with $5,000 Rolexes and sometimes 40 percent or more of their salaries.

Christian leaders have denounced De Jesus, saying he distorts the Bible.

De Jesus had just a few hundred followers when he launched his church in a Hialeah warehouse about 20 years ago. Today, he commands a global movement from his Doral headquarters that boasts 335 education centers, 200 pastors, 287 radio programs and a 24-hour Spanish-language TV network that�s available to 2 million homes � including by special request from some U.S. cable companies. Only De Jesus and his right hand man, Carlos Cestero, are authorized to preach.

In his sermons, De Jesus emphasizes wealth and success as a sign of God�s favor. Many of his members are business owners who give a percentage of their corporate profits to De Jesus, said Alvaro Albarracin, who runs the film production company MiamiLa Entertainment, said he gave 20 percent of his profit to the movement when he sold his Web-hosting company, Dialtone, for more than $16 million in 2001.

�For all of those people who pray for us to come out of this movement, this shows that this is it, there�s no going back,�one of the members Roca said of her tattoos. �This is to make sure that everyone relates me to that vision.�

�Antichrist� is the latest in a string of titles De Jesus has bestowed on himself.

In 1988, De Jesus announced he was the reincarnation of the Apostle Paul. In 1999, he dubbed himself �the Other,� a spiritual super being who would pave the way for Christ�s second coming. In 2004, he proclaimed himself to be Jesus Christ. That claim caused some prominent members to defect from the movement � including De Jesus� first wife, Nydia, and his son Jose Luis Jr., who started his own church in Puerto Rico.

In January, during a packed worship service at the church, De Jesus took off his coat and revealed the numbers 666 on his forearm.

�This is a congregation of Antichrists,� De Jesus said, drawing whistles and cheers.

The number 666 appears in the Book of Revelation, a portion of the New Testament that details the prophet John�s apocalyptic vision of the rise of the Antichrist, the tribulation and Christ�s return. In Revelation, a horned beast appears on earth and requires everyone to get his mark � 666 � on the right hand or forehead.

Experts on new religious movements say De Jesus� opposition to other religions, and his claim to be the only legitimate spiritual authority, resemble the teachings of some cults.

De Jesus� followers have lashed out against organized Christianity because they believe their prophet holds the true gospel, they say. His adherents have disrupted Catholic processions on Good Friday and protested outside an evangelical church gathering in Miami�s Tropical Park. Last July, they tore up literature published by the Jehovah�s Witnesses and other Christian movements during a march in downtown Miami.

Wednesday, September 5, 2012

Nigeria�s first lady is being treated for ruptured appendicitis in Germany, Online media, Premium Times gathered

Mum is the word at Aso Rock, seat of the Nigerian presidency, as state officials resort to silence in disclosing the health status of the First lady, Patience Jonathan, who is undergoing treatment at a German hospital.

Authoritative presidency sources, Tuesday, told PREMIUM TIMES that Mrs. Jonathan is receiving treatment for �ruptured appendicitis.� A source said the matter worsened because health officials erred in managing her illness and thought she had food poisoning.

Last night media aides to the first lady did not respond to a request by the Associated Press (AP) to comment on the situation. But a government official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, to the AP, held that the first lady is being hospitalised for food poisoning.

According to the government official, Mrs. Jonathan fell sick about 10 days ago, after she hosted a summit of first ladies from across Africa.

Ayo Osinlu, the first lady�s spokesman, also did not respond to a request for comment on Tuesday.

German prosecutors said Tuesday they had opened a manslaughter investigation against a 49-year-old woman after the corpse of a new-born baby girl was found in her freezer after 10 years.

The grisly find was made by her former husband on Friday when he defrosted the freezer in the house where they used to live, said prosecutors in the northern city of Flensburg.

It was not clear whether the baby was alive or dead when placed in the freezer, investigators said. There were no signs she had been violently treated but authorities confirmed the baby was not stillborn.

The woman, who has not been named, has admitted the baby was hers and said she was �in a state of complete exhaustion and hopelessness� at the time.

The couple already had three, now fully grown, children and divorced in 2009, prosecutors said.

A Purchasing Officer with the University of Calabar, Cross River State, Mr. John Odu, has allegedly been killed by the relatives of his wife, Nancy, after a marital squabble.

�

Residents of the area said the alleged killing was due to a fight between the couple, who were blessed with two children aged 21 and 19 years. The fight led to the biting off of the wife�s nose.

PUNCH Metro learnt on Saturday that the couple, who resided at 23 Uduakobong Street, off Edim Otop Street, were childhood lovers during their secondary school days and eventually got married in the late 80s.

�

However, prior to the incident, the relationship between the spouses, who hail from Ntamante in Boki Local Government Area of the state, had plummeted due to frequent fighting and quarrelling.

�

It was said John bit off his wife�s nose in August 17 to free himself from the intense pains he was going through when the latter grabbed his penis during a fight.

�

A source in the adjoining building, who craved anonymity said, �We heard the man screaming and begging for his wife to let go his genitals but she would not, so the man started crying and at a point, we heard the lady crying too. It was later that we discovered that the man bit off the wife�s nose.

�After that fight, John took his wife to the University of Calabar Teaching Hospital where the nostril was stitched and the woman was admitted.

�

�It was when he was returning from the hospital the following day that some members of the wife�s family accosted him close to his house and beat him until he became unconscious and they left him lying there in a pool of blood.�

�

John died on the way to the hospital, while his remains had been deposited at UCTH�s morgue.

When contacted, the Director in charge of stores in the university, Mr. Effiong Enang, said, �When I heard that the man was dead I contacted the Bursar of the university, who is the head of our unit and he asked me to confirm if it was true. I went to the house and found out that it was true. We took the body to the anatomy section.�

�

A source at the Airport Police Station in Calabar, where the case was first reported said the matter had been transferred to the D4 Department of the State Criminal Investigation Department.

�

A Deputy Superintendent of Police simply identified as Mr. Joe, in charge of the Homicide Unit said, �The family had taken some policemen to Abuja where we tried to locate the chief suspect but he escaped. He can only run for now we will certainly get him.�

�

The Police Public Relations Officer, Mr. John Umoh, said the name of the chief suspect was being kept secret in order not to alert him that he was on the wanted list. He added that efforts were on to track him.

A 36-year old woman, Mrs. Gloria Ugonnaya, has been arraigned before a Yaba Magistrate�s court in Lagos, Southwest Nigeria, charged with assault.

She allegedly bit off the ear of a police Corporal, Odion Oifoghe, attached to Sabo Police Division, Yaba in order to evade arrest.

Sources gathered that Gloria had a quarrel with her neighbour at their 35, Johnson Street, Onike, Yaba, Lagos residence and when the police invited her for questioning, she refused to honour the invitation.

Oifoghe had to go to her residence in the morning on the day of the incident to arrest her. But in an effort to frustrate the policeman, she engaged him in a scuffle during which she bit off his ear. She was eventually arrested.

Police charged her with assault occasioning harm. The offence, according to the police prosecutor, is contrary to and punishable under section 172 of the criminal code, laws of Lagos state, Nigeria, 2011.

When the charge was read to her, Gloria pleaded not guilty.

The trial Magistrate, Mrs. S.K. Metapa admitted her to bail in the sum of N50,000 and one surety in like sum.

The matter was adjourned till 12 September, 2012 for mention. Gloria was remanded in prison custody pending when her bail condition will be perfected.

Tragedy struck at Obodoukwu Imoha, Nkerefi community in Nkanu East Local Government Area of Enugu weekend, when a young man allegedly went berserk and inflicted several machete cuts on his father, killing him instantly.

The suspect identified by the police as Chinedu Umahi, was said to have killed his father, Mr. Uwanuakwa Umahi while he was resting in his house about 6 pm on Saturday, September 1, with a sharp machete with which he gave him deep cuts in his body.

The police said in Enugu that the man became unconscious following severe bleeding and was rushed to a hospital at Agbani in the neighbouring Nkanu West Local Government Area where he died few hours later. Chinedu is now said to be in police custody where he had allegedly admitted killing his father.

The State Police Public Relations Officer, PPRO, Mr. Ebere Amaraizu, confirmed the incident yesterday, saying that the command has already commenced investigations into the incident.

He said: �We are investigating an incident in which a son gave his father several machete cuts at Obodoukwu Imoha, Nkerefi in Nkanu East local Government Area of the state for a yet to be established reason. The victim, one Uwanuakwa Umahi was alleged to have been macheted by his own son Chinedu.

�The victim was said to be resting in his house that fateful day when his son suddenly came in and started cutting him with the machete. The man tried to escape through the window but he could not because of severe injuries he had already sustained hence he became unconscious. The man was later rushed to the General Hospital Agbani for treatment but he was confirmed dead.�

Tuesday, September 4, 2012

A Purchasing Officer with the University of Calabar, Cross River State, Mr. John Odu, has allegedly been killed by the relatives of his wife, Nancy, after a marital squabble.

�

Residents of the area said the alleged killing was due to a fight between the couple, who were blessed with two children aged 21 and 19 years. The fight led to the biting off of the wife�s nose.

PUNCH Metro learnt on Saturday that the couple, who resided at 23 Uduakobong Street, off Edim Otop Street, were childhood lovers during their secondary school days and eventually got married in the late 80s.

�

However, prior to the incident, the relationship between the spouses, who hail from Ntamante in Boki Local Government Area of the state, had plummeted due to frequent fighting and quarrelling.

�

It was said John bit off his wife�s nose in August 17 to free himself from the intense pains he was going through when the latter grabbed his penis during a fight.

�

A source in the adjoining building, who craved anonymity said, �We heard the man screaming and begging for his wife to let go his genitals but she would not, so the man started crying and at a point, we heard the lady crying too. It was later that we discovered that the man bit off the wife�s nose.

�After that fight, John took his wife to the University of Calabar Teaching Hospital where the nostril was stitched and the woman was admitted.

�

�It was when he was returning from the hospital the following day that some members of the wife�s family accosted him close to his house and beat him until he became unconscious and they left him lying there in a pool of blood.�

�

John died on the way to the hospital, while his remains had been deposited at UCTH�s morgue.

When contacted, the Director in charge of stores in the university, Mr. Effiong Enang, said, �When I heard that the man was dead I contacted the Bursar of the university, who is the head of our unit and he asked me to confirm if it was true. I went to the house and found out that it was true. We took the body to the anatomy section.�

�

A source at the Airport Police Station in Calabar, where the case was first reported said the matter had been transferred to the D4 Department of the State Criminal Investigation Department.

�

A Deputy Superintendent of Police simply identified as Mr. Joe, in charge of the Homicide Unit said, �The family had taken some policemen to Abuja where we tried to locate the chief suspect but he escaped. He can only run for now we will certainly get him.�

�

The Police Public Relations Officer, Mr. John Umoh, said the name of the chief suspect was being kept secret in order not to alert him that he was on the wanted list. He added that efforts were on to track him.

A man who was caught attempting to steal a Sport Utility Vehicle, SUV, during church service at an Anglican Church in Lagos, George Obasi, stunned his interrogators when he claimed he got a divine directive to take the SUV home.

He said he had to take the SUV since he�needed money to start a new business because his former business collapsed and he has been praying over it before the day of the incident.

Worshippers at Anglican Cathedral located at Okodua Street, Kirikiri Town, Lagos, southwest Nigeria, listened in disbelief to what Obasi was telling the church securitymen who caught him in the act.

The church members and the securitymen ignored his alleged divine message. They arrested and handed him over to the police.

At the police station, he allegedly confessed to the police that he attempted to steal the SUV, sell it and use the money to start a business.

The 43- year old man pretended that he had come to the church to worship and joined others at the congregational service. He, however, armed himself with tools to steal at the church premises.

As the service was going on, he quietly went out to where a Nissan SUVwith registration number MP 461ABC was parked to steal it. He reportedly used a sharp object in his pocket and forced the door of the vehicle open.

He was caught while attempting to drive the car out of the church premises.

Obasi was charged to an Apapa Magistrate�s Court on a two-count charge of attempted stealing.

His plea was not taken.

The presiding magistrate, Mrs. A .O. Ogundare ordered that the matter should be transferred to Kirikiri Magistrate�s Court where he will face the charge.

Monday, September 3, 2012

The birthday celebration of a 17-year-old female student of Yaba College of Technology, Omodesola Olusoji, turned sour last Wednesday as an unidentified school friend of hers poured a substance suspected to be a corrosive chemical on her.

�

PUNCH Metro learnt that it is a tradition in the 65-year-old institution for students to pour water on their friends on their birthdays as part of the celebration.

It was learnt that friends of Omodesola, a first year National Diploma student of Business Administration continued in the tradition and poured water on her while she was coming down the stairs at the PGD hostel.

�

However, one of them got hold of a keg of corrosive chemical kept in her hostel room, which she mistook for water, and poured it on Omodesola.

�

A student of the institution who preferred anonymity said Omodesola sustained burns on her face and her chest.

�

He said, �We actually learnt that her mother who is a senior lecturer in the school asked her not to come to school that day. But she lied to her that she had a test.

�

�I don�t think that malice was intended. The chemical the girl mistook for water was the one being used for the entrepreneurial development project.�

He added that Omodesola was initially taken to the school health centre, but was rejected because of the extent of her injuries.

�

Confirming the incident to our correspondent on the telephone, the Lagos State Police Public Relations Officer, Ngozi Braide, said Omodesola was currently receiving medical treatment at the Lagos University Teaching Hospital.

She said all efforts to get the school authorities to hand over the accused to the police had proved abortive.

�

She said, �On Thursday evening Omodesola�s father, Kayode, made a verbal report of the incident at the Sabo Police Division.

�The DPO has reached out to the school�s Chief Security Officer and the Students Affairs Unit to get the accused interrogated by the police for proper investigation of the matter but they have yet to do that.

�

�There is no official communication from the school authority to give us the reason behind that. The last time the DPO spoke with the CSO, he said the Rector wanted to deal with the matter internally.�

�

When our correspondent contacted the Public Relations Officer of the institution, Adekunle Adams, on the telephone, he said the college was working in collaboration with the parents of the victim to bring her back to normal.

�

He said, �Bathing people with water on their birthdays on the school campus, had been a norm amongst the students and they do this out of sheer youthful exuberance.

�

�In all fairness, the incident was purely accidental. The suspect in the case had been reporting at the unit investigating the matter and she had been remorseful. She was even part of those who rushed her to the health centre.

�

�The college is waiting for the medical report to know what our level of commitment will be in helping her recover fully.�

�

When asked if the college was preventing the police from doing their job, Adams said, �I�m not in the know of that.

�

Our correspondent, however, learnt that the Omodesola�s parents are considering flying her abroad for proper medical attention.

Sunday, September 2, 2012

�The 21 year old mother in the picture above�was�is a quite a beauty to behold. Her beauty unfortunately, is now a thing of the past, as you will see in her current picture after the jump.

She is said to have been beaten, almost to death by her ex-boyfriend despite having a protection order and two domestic violence cases pending against him

Michael Padayachee was out on R5000 bail on a June intimidation charge brought by Tina Mbili, the mother of his child and� high-school sweetheart, when he allegedly kicked and punched her in the head� in Verulam, north of Durban, South Africa.

He allegedly attacked her as the police were supposedly looking for him in connection with the attempted murder of his 17-month-old daughter, who was badly bruised when he allegedly threw her over a gate in July.

According to Mbili, she was walking with her daughter in a park when she was� attacked the first time and almost beaten to an early grave by her hoodlum-exboyfriend.

This prompted Mbili to get a protectiong order as she was convinced it would save her from the man who had come several times to her home, smashed windows, ran away with the child and threatened to kill her neighbours- but he always managed to have freedom to come back to hurt Mbili.

�The protection order meant nothing to him or to the police, who should have enforced it,� her sister� Harichand said.

Harichand was forced to move Mbili to a private hospital and instructed security guards not to allow anyone to visit her sister without her permission.

�He is still out there and he can try to get her. Look at her injuries. He wanted her dead . he always told her that he would kill her.�

Lisa Vetten, a gender activist and policy analyst at the Tshwaranang Legal Advocacy Centre, said few police officers took domestic violence cases seriously because most of them believed the victim would withdraw the charge.

�Other police do not enforce the Domestic Violence Act because they believe [it is being abused] and other police officers are abusers themselves.�

In this day and age, I honestlyDO NOT understand why a fully grown man in his right senses would think of hitting a woman. This is just NOT OK,at all.

Sadly, most women in abusive relationships never speak out until they are nearly killed.Some don�t even live to tell their sad tale. PLEASE and PLEASE, resist all form of physical abuse from a man. If he hit you once, he will hit you again, and again.

A SUSPECTED member of a five-man robbery gang was on Wednesday burnt to death by residents of Calabar, Cross River State.

The suspect and four members of his gang were caught in the act, attempting to break into a multipurpose shop on IBB Way in the capital city

The gang was said to have terrorized shop owners and traders at the nearby Akim market.

Eye witnesses said that neighbors and onlookers braved the odds and

confronted the gang. In the melee, four of the suspects fled.

According to a student of the International Institute of Journalism who said he was passing by when the suspect was about to be lynched, the burnt suspect attempted to escape.

He struggled to free himself from the mob but he was overpowered and sprayed with petrol and burnt.

The student said that he informed the state mobile security outfit, the Quick Response Squad, as the mob was about to set the suspect ablaze. Before help could come from the QRS, the suspect had been beaten to a pulp, sprayed with petrol and burnt.

One of the shop owners expressed joy at the timely and swift intervention of the mob, saying that her life would have been at risk if help had not come from the neighbors.

The Public Relations Officer of the state police command, John Umoh, told journalists that he was yet to receive information about the death of the suspect.

Last month, the Commissioner of Police in the state, Osita Ezechukwu displayed large amount of bullets, guns, charms, human skulls and machetes that were recovered from suspected armed robbers, and warned that it was no longer business as usual for cultists, criminals and armed robbers in the state

Since arriving at Old Trafford in November 1986, Sir Alex Ferguson has broken record after record at Manchester United.

The milestones, too, have tumbled. Most United games managed, 25 years in charge��Now he�s preparing to take the Reds to Southampton this Sunday for what will be his 1000th league game in English football.

It�s a phenomenal tally, especially when you consider Sir Alex has steered the Reds to victory in almost 60 per cent of those games and tasted defeat just 168 times. In all, he�s amassed a remarkable average of 2.03 points per game over his 26-year reign. In that time, United have scored 1863 goals and conceded just 890, a goal difference of +973.

Here, we take a look at some of the ups and down during his 999 league games so far�

The first�Sir Alex started with a whimper, not a bang. In charge for the first time when United travelled to Oxford on 8 November 1986, he witnessed a poor

A commercial bus driver has killed an albino girl riding on the back of a bike along Kudirat Abiola way the Ikeja/Oregun/Ojota axis of Lagos and injuring two others at Ojota while attempting to escape, driving even more recklessly * Viewer Discretion Advised*

The tragedy hit around 12.35pm as a yellow commuter bus was driving against the one-way traffic along Kudirat Abiola way, just opposite the lane to activists on a march to commemorate the death of prominent civil rights lawyer, Gani Fawehinmi, today.

The activists had begun their march from under the popular bridge along Obafemi Awolowo way in Ikeja with five police vans watching them closely.

The train was going smoothly before the bus suddenly ran into some motorbikes and pedestrians on Kudirat Abiola way near the Olusosun garbage dump. The albino woman was killed in the accident.

The strong collision threw the woman against the culvert, instantly breaking her right leg and causing a crack on her skull, she died some thirty minutes later according to the police.

The activists ended the procession to engage in a furious chase to catch up with the hit-and-run driver riding on the back of several bikes at Ojota the road seemed closed to traffic but the commercial driver in his haste to escape hit two other persons made an u-turn towards Alausa where he was finally rounded up by the comrades.

The killer driver has been apprehended and detained at the Alausa Police Station

35-year-old Iyabo Oladunni, is a mother of five girls who has now been blessed with a set of quadruplets. She gave birth to the quintuplets at the University College Hospital (UCH) in Ibadan.

Iyabo and her husband wanted to have a male child and that was why she got pregnant again, before giving birth to three girls and a boy.

Her husband Olayemi Oladunni took to his heels after she delivered the babies. She is pleading with her state government to please come to her aid and well-meaning Nigerians. According to her she is a tailor and cannot take care of the nine children alone

Manchester City coach confirmed to reporters today that the 22yr old Italian striker is no longer able to wear contact lenses and requires immediate surgery to correct his Myopia. Myopia is commonly known as shortsightedness.

�Mario is not ready to return to the pitch yet. He no longer seems to tolerate contact lenses. He�s feeling alright now, but the problem can return anytime�- the coach told reporters

This story went viral some days back but I didn�t touch it because I wanted to get the real facts�and here�s what I can tell you about Nollywood actor Rich Oganiru and his arrest for allegedly killing his wife.

He really was arrested but he has since been granted bail. The police confirmed that the Nollywood actor was arrested and is being investigated in connection with the alleged killing of his wife.

Rich Oganiru, who is one of the pioneering members of the Actor�s Guild of Nigeria, was married to a rich Abuja-based business woman who fell ill and was hospitalized for over three months in a hospital in Abuja. She had a fibroid operation a few weeks before her death. The fibroid operation was supposedly successful and she was discharged. The woman was said to have died at home the same day she was discharged. It was Rich Oganiru who picked her up from the hospital.

Immediately after her death, the woman�s family petitioned the police saying they believe Oganiru killed her because of some of the things the late wife had told some family members before she died and also because Rich had been trying for a while to get rid of the woman and acquire her wealth. He had supposedly started selling off some of her properties even before she passed. They told the police that Rich Oganiru gave her a poisonous pill that ended her life.

The police then arrested Oganiru on suspicion of murder, but later granted him bail because according to them, there was no sufficient evidence that he had a hand in his wife�s death. And contrary to what the wife�s family is alleging, poison was not found in the deceased body when an autopsy was carried out.

Some think her death is connected with her fibroid operation�though investigations are ongoing!

And there was never a time Rich Oganiru confessed to killing his wife. If he had done that, the police would never have granted him bail.

That�s all I know for now�but the story hasn�t ended. We are waiting for the police to finish their investigations.

In a bid to test the potency of his newly acquired bullet proof �juju�, a man, Ornguga Adega, of Agbatse village in Kwande local government area of Benue State, shot his only son dead while conducting a gunshot test on the boy.

The suspect, who was immediately apprehended by men of the Benue State Police Command, is currently facing trial at a Makurdi Chief Magistrate Court.

According to the First Information Report, FIR, by the police, the suspect and father of the ten- year- old had, in August 2012, bought some charm from a native doctor with the belief that it was potent enough to prevent the penetration of bullets into his body.

He was said to have rubbed his �bullet proof� cream on the body of his son in order to verify its efficacy and potency in line with the instructions of the native doctor from whom he bought the charm.

According to the FIR, Adega fired a shot with his single barrel gun on the right leg of his son following which the bullet shattered the leg and also penetrated through to the left leg.

The boy was said to have bled profusely but before his shocked and devastated father could get proper medical attention for him, the little boy bled to death.

When the case came up at the Makurdi Chief Magistrate Court, police prosecutor, Inspector Gabriel Egbonyi, said the accused was arrested at the process of investigating the cause of death of the young boy.

Egbonyi further told the court that the accused confessed to committing the crime and also acknowledged responsibility for the unfortunate incident which prompted further police investigation into the matter.

Meanwhile no plea was taken for want of jurisdiction. However the prosecution said investigation was still in progress in the matter and asked for another date for hearing.

The Chief Magistrate, Mr Dan Ogoh, ordered that the accused be remanded in prison custody and adjourned the case to 12 September.

Officials of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency have arrested an auto technician, Vincent Chinweuwa, for allegedly hiding 2.655kg of cocaine hidden inside roasted chicken.

The seizure was made at the Murtala Mohammed International Airport, Lagos during the inward clearance of passengers on a Turkish Airline flight from Sao Paulo, Brazil on Friday.

The agency said street value of the seized drug was about N24m.

The NDLEA Airport Commander, Mr. Hamza Umar, described the seizure as �remarkable.�

�It is a remarkable seizure because no one would have imagined cocaine worth several millions inside roasted chicken,� Hamza stated.

When he was interrogated, the suspect reportedly said he thought that the drug would not be detected.

�It took me three days to pack the cocaine inside the roasted chicken. I was confident that the drug will not be detected. I have been living in Brazil since 2006. Life has been stressful because I cannot even visit my wife in Nigeria due to lack of money. I wanted some money to start any business of my choice back home. Unfortunately, I was disappointed upon arrival in Lagos,� he said.

Meanwhile, the Chairman of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, Ahmadu Giade, said spectacular seizures of this nature would help discourage others from the criminal drug trade.

�The suspect thought his mode of drug concealment was perfect but we proved him wrong. Several drugs cleverly hidden by drug barons have been discovered and we shall continue to detect drugs regardless of the mode of concealment,� Giade assured.

A middle aged man identified as Tari, an Trofani in Sagbama local government area of Bayelsa State Saturday in Yenagoa reportedly took his own life shortly after he was awarded a contract worth 200 Million Naira

A graduate of the University of Port Harcourt, the deceased it was learnt had just secured a government road contract worth N200m for the Igbedi- Amassoma link road.

It was gathered that the incident occurred at the home of the deceased located within the Civil Servant Estate behind the office complex of the State Scholarship board.

The deceased who was found writhing in pains by close relatives in the early hours of Friday is believed to have drank a poisonous mixture.

A source told�newsmen that the relatives and sympathizers, after discovering the deceased writhing in pain, rushed him to the Federal Medical Center (FMC) for treatment and reportedly took him to a Church after his condition deteriorated.

Though none could give reasons for the action of the decision of the deceased to end his life sources told�newsmen that the mother of the deceased, who is identified as a retired civil servant and other family members were shocked over the incident.

While some close friends of the deceased blamed his tragic end to some mysterious powers, others claimed that he had, in the past few days, been receiving threat calls on his mobile phone.

They claimed the mysterious callers have been threatening to kill him over an undisclosed deal.

Contacted, the state police public relations officer, Fidelis Odunnwa (DSP) said though there has been no official report on the incident, the operatives of the command would be deployed to investigate the incident.

�How can a young man take his life? It�s not possible. Somebody somewhere must have done something funny,� a family source stated.�

This very interesting gist about how our politicians enjoyed themselves while we were losing at the Olympics is very, very funny!

Story has it�that while Nigerian athletes were busy competing for medals at the Olympics, the Chairman House Committee On Sports, Hon. Godfrey Ali Gaiya was allegedly busy enjoying himself at the prestigious Marriot Hotel, where he lodged.

Hon. Gaiya, who represents Jaba/Zangon Kataf Federal constituency of Kaduna state in the Federal House of Reps, was said to have attracted a big attention to himself when he was about to check out of the Marriot hotel.

This is because the hotel management had requested that the honourable should settle his total bills before he could be allowed to go.

At this stage, the honourable threw caution to the wind, insisting that the hotel was trying to play a fast one on him.

While the hotel was restrained not to embarrass him with the disclosure of his bill, the action of Hon. Gaiya had already attracted attention of busy bodies and concerned Nigerians.

At a stage, when the hotel could not withstand the honourable�s drama, it was disclosed that while the honourable was in his room, he was busy watching pornography channels that were considered premium channels with premium charges.

At this stage, many were shocked and embarrassed that while Nigerian athletes were busy trying to do the country proud, the honourable was busy watching adult films in his hotel room.

Grudgingly, the honourable admitted watching the channels and was made to pay about two hundred and forty pounds sterling � �240 � just N60,000 naira!!

When the honourable was contacted, he neither picked his phone nor responded to the short message (text) sent to his phone.

Saturday, September 1, 2012

Rihanna was nearly thrown out of a London nightclub on Thursday (August 30) after being involved in an altercation with security, reports The Sun.

The 24-year-old is said to have screamed �Don�t you know who I am?� at staff from the Rose Club who attempted to escort her off the premises in the early hours of the morning.

Rihanna, who was reportedly drinking champagne and cocktails throughout the night, had allegedly jumped on a table, broken it and sent its contents crashing to the ground before security were called.

�Ri was telling the bouncers to get off and there was a scuffle. I don�t think they recognized her,� explained a source who witnessed the incident.

�They were trying to eject her when her girlfriends starting screaming, �That�s Rihanna, you idiots!��

�The star, who is rumored to be performing at the London 2012 Paralympics closing ceremony on September 9, was eventually allowed to stay at the venue following protests from her friends.

�Before they got to the exit doors, they realized their mistake and the club manager ordered free drinks for the table. And a new table, of course,� added the source.

Rihanna is said to have stayed at the Rose Club until 4am, before moving on to party at a friend�s house for a further two hours. As she left, she and a friend jokingly posed for waiting photographers on a nearby scooter.

The singer has gained a reputation for excessive partying in recent months. She tweeted pictures of her bandaged foot after breaking her toe while bartending on a friend�s yacht, missed a flight to LA after a heavy night of drinking and told her online followers: �U know life is great when u wake up at 9am DRUNK!!!!!�

She took to her account once again this morning (September 1) to play down reports of the Rose Club scuffle.

�Who the phuck jumps on a glass table and live??� she tweeted. �C�mon Sun, u gots to do better than that!!! #missingreceipts.�

Although she has been experiencing marriages, but it is in various films and plays where she usually emerges as one of the play makers, as she recently did in Sefi Atta�s The Naming Ceremony staged in London during the Olympic Games. In Hoodrush, produced by Dimeji Ajibola, she is Alhaja who sucks romance from young Shez (O. C. Ukeje), who needs her financial muscle and support to wade through trying times.full details inside�

Despite such romance with the altar, any of Akintola�s fans who thinks she is missing real life marriage had, however, �better purge him/herself of such a thought. �According to her, time ought to have taught any discerning person that the traditional attachment people have to marriage can no more remain the same. Besides, she believes that age is no longer a barrier to marriage as it can come any time.

�A relationship is work,� Akintola notes. �Marriage is a bigger work. Once you have signed the paper, you are in each other�s space � day in day out. You are two people with different backgrounds. You have problems until you have even grounds. So, it takes a lot of hard work to stay in marriage. That is why when my friends come to me and say, I am getting married�, I ask, �Are you sure?� I have never dated any person and said, �Oh, this is the person I want to marry.�

Akintola may not have garnered practical marital experience, but she is very firm on her belief about the ageless institution. She wants people to know that age hardly defines marriage anymore.

Her words, �People can get married at 48 nowadays. It is no more a thing of �You are old�. And grandparents should no more put pressure on people. When you say, �I pick this man�, that is it. I like men, being not gay or whatever. But I don�t think age is a barrier. If you find a man 10 years younger or older, go on with him.�

She also feels there is nothing wrong in having kids out of wedlock. According to her, refusing to do so if circumstances call for it will mean what she calls double burden. While she does not, however, personally rule out marriage, she is rather amused when asked who her ideal man is.

�There is no such thing as an ideal man. There is no perfect man or woman. What you have is work in progress. Once you meet half way, you just have to build from there,� she explains.

Akintola feels fulfilled at playing Alhaja in Hoodrush. She commends the producer for setting a standard that, she believes, is what every professional should go for. Saying that the film thrives on a very good script, Akintola also salutes Ukeje who, she says, shows a lot of depth and talent in the movie.